Visa to introduce "payWave" credit cards in the Philippines for ‘tap-and-go’ payments

Visa will finally launch its “payWave” technology to credit card holders in the Philippines for a more hassle-free transaction. These ‘tap-and-go’ credit cards will allow users to simply tap their card on an electronic terminal when paying for a service or product.The technology is not new to neighboring countries. In fact, the Philippines is just one of the countries in Asia-Pacific region who hasn’t tried the technology yet. Per ABS-CBN News report, payWave is already being used in Australia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore for several years now.

We may be late in terms of adapting technology in to our existing system but it is inspiring to note that we are about to experience it the coming months. According to Iain Jamieson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam, the payWave technology will be introduced come second half of the year.

“We’re introducing payWave, with tap-and-go technology… I can just tap my card on the reader and for purchases below P2,000 I don’t sign or get a receipt for it.

“Philippine banks will be migrating to this in the next 12 to 24 months,” he said.

Since some of the terminals in the Philippines are still connected to dial up, it will take 12 to 24 months for our banks to migrate to this new technology that uses high speed Internet to work.

Also, this tap-and-go technology will be initally available to credit cards. Debit and prepaid cards will soon follow.

Aside from payWave, Visa will also introduce mPOS (mobile point of sale). With this, smartphones can be used as a point-of-sale device by swiping a card to make a transaction in any location. mPOS is hoped to be rolled out the first quarter of this year.

Fjordan Allego aka Fjordz is an IT security practitioner in the Philippines. He maintains a couple of blogs where he shares his views on various topics that he finds interesting. A self-confessed introvert who's mostly active in social media, Fjordz also loves to travel and explore the wonders of the world.